MECHWARRIOR

Did I by accident slip into parrel universe where dreams of old pcgaming farts get fulfiled? Because first they announce new Monkey Island at E3 and now Mechwarrior is coming back? IGN has lenghty interview with Jordan Weisman (one of the guys who created the BattleTech univers) and Russ Bullock (president of Piranha Games, the developer behind the new Mechwarrior). I’ve read the interview, I’ve seen the footage. And well… it looks like Mechwarrior, the video is obviously scripted like hell, but it shows what they are aiming at. And I’m relived to say it does look like Mechwarrior 5, not MechAssault 3 which I was afraid off. Not everything is all that rosy though (just like Tales of Monkey Island announcement also wasn’t fulfillment of all our hopes).

So what I didn’t like?:

-First of all the developer isn’t exactly a known material and so far they’ve been only doing second rate console games
-It’s multiplatform. Hopefully they realize the main audience for this type of game is on PC and it will be a lead platform for it.
-They want to make 360 and PC gamers do crossplatform play, Shadowrun style. This is absolutely horrible idea, it didn’t work in Shadowrun, it won’t here. Not to mention it would mean P2P only MP and use of dreaded Games for Windows Live. We can only hope that whatever publisher they find he will beat this nonsense out of them.

Still, the trailer and interview made big enough impression on me that I’m cautiously optimistic. I doubt it will be as simulation heavy as Mechwarrior 3 (my favorite part of the franchise), but neither was Mechwarrior 4 and it didn’t stop me from enjoying the hell out of it. Plus it’s Unreal Engine 3, it’s not the best engine for a PC game, but it’s one that modding communities have plenty of experience with. So even if the new Mechwarrior ends up being disappointing in some areas, there’s a very good chance Mektek and others will fix everything that’s wrong with it.

But that’s not all.

To celebrate Battletech’s 25th anniversary Mechwarrior 4 will be released for free along with all expansion packs and MekTek’s glorious enchantments.

ALIEN BREED is coming back

Before I joined the glorious ranks of PC Gamers I was a hardcore Commodore fan (yes, instead of being “polluted by consoles”  my childhood was filled with stealing mother’s hairpins, squashing them with hammer and then using them to calibrate the Commodore64 cassette player . I was lucky though, my friends who had Atari XL had to leave the room when the game was loading as even a single squeak of wooden floor could result in AtariXL’s cassette player screwing up the game’s loading). Then came Amiga and with it Alien Breed. Team 17 back then was kind of what Blizzard is today to PCgaming. You could buy any game they made without reading any reviews, or even without actually knowing what it’s about. They were THAT good. And among Team 17 games Alien Breed was always the one series I loved the most. For years I’ve been waiting for a real follow up. I had to suffer through two attempts of turning the series into FPS, then I was hoping others might clone the concept successfully. Some have tried to do just that:  Shadowgrounds turned out to be a pretty nice Alien Breed clone. The ones that came the closest were modders though, as Alien Swarm mod for UT2004 not only managed to recreate the brilliance of Alien Breed, but actually succeed  in pushing the formula forward (which is why the recent lack of updates on commercial follow-up is breaking my heart).
As the Alien Breed is slated to be released on multitude of platforms, I doubt they will implement the great mouse-based controls Alien Swarm had, but even if it remains old school at it’s design, it’s still Alien Breed, I get all fluffy inside when I think about it.
New Mechwarrior and Alien Breed? For real? Next thing I know I will be hearing X-COM annoucement (yes please, pretty please! )

COMMAND AND CONQUER 4!

Of course the announcement alone is big news, after all the franchise is one of biggest ones PC Gaming has, but this time there reasons to get a lot more excited. In the interview the EA guy revealed not only that there will be no DRM but also that it’s developed as PC only title. Straight from the horse’s mouth:

While we are very proud of the work done [for] console versions of our previous titles, we are developing Command & Conquer 4 exclusively for the PC. Given the ambitious scope and significantly reworked infrastructure of this game, it felt like the right approach to focus purely on our core platform and make sure we get everything right.

I guess the terrible sales of Xbox 360’s versions of Command and Conquer 3 and Red Alert 3 are to blame for that
The game will finally attempt to redesign the formula (CnC hasn’t really changed since 1995). Of course it’s always risky to play with as strongly established formula as the one in CnC, but since there are currently two separate lines of CnC games it would be a great idea to experiment in one and then just polish and improve on the old formula in the other.

This week was also marred by some dissapoitments too. THe “big LucasArts” annoucement turned out to be adding their games to STEAM. An Alan Wake took a pretty dissapointing 360 only route (at least for now there are no comments on PC version), loosing open ended nature of it’s gameplay along the way.

Despite this though, there’s no denying it was a week filled with insane annoucements and even some problems can’t downplay just how awesome the last couple days have been for PCgamers.

In case you haven’t already heard  FEZ was announced for XBLA . The problem is that it was announced as only coming to Xbox Live Arcade. Yep, no PC version in sight

Now, to be honest there’s quite a debate going if it ever was actually announced for PC in the first place. However at the very least such impression was made, that’s how the game was demoed and how the game was listed on gaming sites,if my memory is correct at IGF nominees list it also was named as such and most of all a large portion of gamers (myself included) were convinced it was coming to PC. If this was somehow a misunderstanding then the developer did nothing to clear it up.

The XBLA release isn’t surprising on it’s own, Fez always felt like a console game that just happened to be on PC for some reason. I would be shocked if Machinarium or Eschalon Book 2 would do such switch, but Fez? It’s a platformer with cute furry animal as main character, it simply  screams “CONSOLE GAME !!!”.
I guess we all got a little spoiled. For so many years we’ve been playing through all those amazing freeware and indie platformers that we forgot that the main reason why they existed was because there was no way to put them on consoles. Today, with introduction of Xbox Live Arcade, Wiiware, Playstation Network or even Apple’s Appstore this no longer holds true, at least for commercial releases. So we have to get rid of the “indie game = PC game” mentality as much as we hate to do so.

I’m not blaming the developer for switch; unlike many other people (you can read a thread with over 1000 posts full of drama at TIGS if you’re into such stuff.) However I do think the whole thing could have been handled a lot better. Nobody is “entitled” to playing Fez on PC, it’s creators can put it wherever they want but if you do something like this you should comment on PC version, if it’s not coming then say so, do not just announce XBLA release and then run away singing happily. For any sort of comment about this whole situation from the Polytron crew you have to go to mentioned TIGS thread. After  lots of reading through the lines and finally the “no comment” response it seems pretty clear they are under some sort of NDA. The irony is that most likely this means there will be a PC version somewhere in the future, if there wasn’t they would be allowed to say so, the fact they can’t leads me to believe they are just forbidden to confirm the eventual future PC release. Where’s the mentioned irony? Because they’re getting bashed to hell by PCgamers when in reality it’s likely just the result of them intending to make PC version eventually.

What I don’t like however is that they didn’t even post the mentioned “no comment” on their own site. It just seems like pretty lousy attitude towards people who follow your game, plenty of which were spreading hype through other sites or buying Fez t-shirts to help boost developer’s finances .Not everyone browses regularly through TIGS (yeah I know they should, but we do not live in a perfect world ) and even among those who do few have patience to read through couple hundred posts just to get any idea what’s going on with the game they are interested in.
Was it really that hard to post simple “Sorry guys, no comment on anything but XBLA version” on developer’s own site? A lot of drama, forum flaming and confusion could have been avoided this way. But I guess the internet would be a little less exciting then:D

All this Fez drama made me think about all the similiar cases that happened before. Couple years ago we PC gamers had indie all for ourselves, but times change and now online distribution services on consoles compete with PC for developer’s attention. So let’s start from something mild:

WORLD OF GOO

World of Goo on PC suffered the least from console deal. It simply had to lay on the shelf couple months until Wii version is finished, but we did get it on the same day as Wii users. Our version lacked multiplayer, but had better graphics and most of all you could buy as a boxed game, unlike on Wii where it was only available through Wiiware download.

BRAID

I don’t think any indie game ever had this much hype, so when the game one day became XBLA release the uproar every bit as big as one could expect.

EVERYDAY SHOOTER

This one was similar to Braid: hyped and praised as PC game, got all awards as PC game and then Sony came and took it from under our noses right before it was supposed to be out. When it eventually appeared on PC months later I was actually surprised, Playstation’s PSN works quite differently from XBLA and Wiiware and most indie games released through it are owned by Sony, they simply buy the IP before release. So for Everyday Shooter to see release on PC was a very pleasant surprise.

ZEN BOUND

This quirky game from guys who with Stair Dismount made throwing people down the stairs fun was annouced for multiple platforms, including PC, the first screens were actually from PC version. It’s been 6 months since launch of iPhone version and there’s no word about whether PC version will be coming out or not at all.

EDUARDO THE SAMURAI TOASTER

This is worse than those above, after numerous prototypes on PC, the game eventually switched to being Wiiware-only game with no hope of PC release (at least for now)

NIGHT GAME

The last case is the most painful one, as Within a Deep Forest, Knytt and Knytt Stories became sort of benchmarks of how good freeware platformers can get. So to see the game go Wii-only despite being announced as Wii/PC title truly sucked. What I really liked however is that Nifflas simmiedietly after signing the deal informed the fans that there will be no PC version, he also disabled the donating options on his site even before the annoucement. This shows a real class and proves the respect Nifflas has towards his fans.

Seeing how often it’s happening to those console-like games maybe we should get used to it and stop overreacting everytime it happens? I know it’s hard, but if you don’t own certain console or for some reason just refuse to buy the game on anything but PC there are always other indie devs who do release games on PC that are worth your money
Trust me, it’s better to spend time playing And Yet it Moves than doing flame war in Fez related threads

2009 COMMERCIAL GAMES

Hollywood Tycoon
On the whole, Hollywood Tycoon is fun and fast paced tycoon game that is suitable for beginners, yet challenging for skilled players. With lots of flexibility and plenty of strategies to employ, it’s one of the better tycoon games out there, provided that you don’t mind a bit of repetition as you play.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Avalon
Avalon is a beautiful real time simulation game that moves away from the tropical theme of Virtual Villagers and into the realm of magic and fantasy. If you don’t mind a slightly slower pace, and have the patience to play the game slowly over time, it can prove to be a relaxing and fun diversion.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

AI War: Fleet Command
I feel that AI War will ultimately appeal the most to expert strategy gamers. You can speed things up somewhat using the “fast and dangerous” mode, but AI War still offers long games for strategy veterans and those with a lot of time to invest. If you fall into that category, the sheer variety of strategies AI War boasts will draw you in: the twenty ship classes (not types, classes), randomly generated maps, range of defenses, and the diversity of behaviors the AI opponents exhibit mean replay value for this game is quite high. If you can get past the massive nature of the time involved and the size of the game, AI War has enough depth in several areas to satisfy strong strategic cravings.- 7.5 from Out of Eight website

Gary Grigsby’s War in the East: The German-Soviet War 1941-1945
New turnbased wargame from makers of games like World at War (8.5 at IGN) and Uncommon Valor (8.2 from IGN)

Men of War: Red Tide
Add-on to a WWII tactical game that scored 8.0 from IGN

Elven Legacy: Ranger
Add-on to 7.7(at IGN) game

Science Girls
Science Girls was a surprisingly enjoyable little game. There weren’t a lot of flaws that I could see with the game, and it stayed fun and lighthearted throughout my experience with it. It’s unique, and it’s made for anyone to enjoy: the three levels of difficulty widen the range of appeal to include hardcore RPG fans and more casual players alike.- 8.2 from GameTunnel

Aveyond: Lord of Twilight
Like its predecessors, Aveyond: Lord of Twilight is a casual RPG that offers hours of enjoyment. True, it’s not quite long or deep as the first games, but if you’re worried about whether you’re still getting enough bang for your buck, you can put those worries to rest.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Les Misérables: The Game of the Book
The first installment of the Enter the Story series is a very good modern, interactive adaptation of a classic novel that stands well on its own while also hinting at greater things to come-8.0 from Adventuregamers

The Divine Comedy
The second in the series of adventure games retelling of famous novels (first one “Les Misérables: The Game of the Book” scored 8.0 at Adventuregamers)

Chronicles of Mystery: The Tree of Life
Sequel to 7.5 adventuregame

Kuros
Kuros has smart puzzles, gorgeous graphics, amusing characters and decent voice acting. It’s a wonderfully entertaining journey and it’s over far, far too quickly.-8.0 from Gamezebo

Enlightenus
Enlightenus from Blue Tea Games is a creative, richly-textured game that offers an excellent combination of hidden object and adventure in a lighthearted, inspiring story. With 14 hidden object scenes and over a dozen magical rooms to explore, Enlightenus provides challenge without being overwhelming. - 9.0 from Gamezebo

DinerTown Detective Agency
We found the game enjoyable with its multiple game-play elements, cute stories and characters, and few game modes. At the very least, fans of HOGs or adventure games should download and play the free 60-minute trial.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Musaic Box
I highly recommend you give Musaic Box a try. Both the puzzle and music game genres are filled with copycats and me-too games, but Musaic Box marries those two categories and creates something unique. Sure, the public domain midi tunes can sound cheap and cheesy. But you still get a feeling of satisfaction when you’ve finally got “When the Saints Go Marching In” up and running. Musaic Box is available from- 8.0 from IGN

Black Prophecy
SF space MMO.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
If you know nothing about the story found in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, this game is not the place to start because it glosses over the facts and emotions of the real story. However, if you’re looking to pick up your broomstick and take Hogwarts by storm, this title should find its way into your library. It’s not groundbreaking and it’s not the most engaging experience in the world, but there is something fun about dropping worms into a cauldron and desperately looking for 150 hidden crests. Potter fans shouldn’t be disappointed if they’re looking to kill a few hours in the house that Dumbledore built.- 7.5 from IGN

Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures: Episode 3 – Muzzled!
By focusing on telling a complete story and better integrating the puzzles, Muzzled! succeeds in being an episodic adventure that feels like it could be an actual Wallace & Gromit short film.- 8.0 from Adventuregamers

Yosumin!
Square Enix’s puzzle game will grab fans of the genre. This version adds a nice single-player story mode, but ditches the fun multiplayer game on XBLA. If we could mash these two versions together we’d have a great puzzle game, but as is Yosumin is just decent.- 7.1 from

2010 COMMERCIAL GAMES

Mytheon
MMORPG from Petroglyph, a company responsible for Star Wars: Empire at War

MODS

World Sportscar 1970 for rFactor
CSGT has released their World Sportscar Championship 1970 mod for rFactor, bringing one of the most exciting years in sports car racing to the simulation.WSC 1970 consists of almost 30 different car models, including legendary prototypes like the Porsche 917, the Ferrari 512S and the Ford GT40. Also included are the most famous GT cars of that era such as the Ferrari 365GTB, the Porsche 911 and the Chevrolet Corvette.All in all, this massive mod includes 125 cars from the 1970 Le Mans 24 Hours and the World Sportscar Championship season, all coming with RealFeel compatible physics-VirtualR.net

Souleon Storm for Crysis
“This game is a FPS arcade shooter, that will appeal to the casual gamers for its short levels, high replay factor and simple storyline(…) Your mission is to make it from one side of the city to the other in the fastest possible time, and with the highest score.”

The Facility for Doom II

Smash Ball for Half-Life 2
Smash Ball is a fun, free (as long as you have Half-Life 2 installed) distracter from your usual gaming habits. The strategy that’s built into the game is sadly lost in the frenetic action that’s constantly going on, and that’s a shame because there’s the potential to have some cool moments of teamwork. There’s still plenty to do on the four maps that are currently available, thanks largely in part to the different player types and power-ups that can be assigned. If you’re looking for a new use for the Source Engine that also provides plenty of fast fun, look no further than Smash Ball.- 7.9 from IGN

Warhammer 40K mod for Operation Flashpoint

Coda for Unreal Tournament 3
A MP mod with strong focus on sword fighting and magic/physic powers.

Shattered Worlds for Freelancer
“The team combined modding knowledge and lessons learned from numerous mods/servers, they picked the best concepts from from other mods; which were implemented, improved and further expanded. The entire game has been overhauled from the ground up to create a cutting edge balance scheme. The DevTeam also added hundreds of weapons/equipment items, and added over 60 new ships many of which are exclusive to the mod. “

Enhanced Combat Leader: Beyond Overlord for Company of Heroes
“Is a multi-player game modification for Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts that emphasizes tactical combat, realism, and historical accuracy by allowing players to command and deploy company size forces throughout the Normandy Overlord Campaign, players get to create and command authentic WW II Battalion Level formations. Through the advantages of the Relic essence engine players can enjoy a new game experience with many dynamic features that emphasize tactical command and control and exploits the dynamic elements of the living soldiers system by providing player squads many new ability enhancements which allow players to execute advanced tactical combat strategies, players can also execute squad level tactical orders and unit abilities in a smoother more intuitive way.”

Kingdoms Grand Campaign for Medieval 2: Total War
“Kingdoms Grand Campaign Mod is a huge expanded campaign for Medieval II Total War Kingdoms expansion. The mod focuses on increasing the size of the Grand Campaign. Which includes a huge new map, 7 new factions, and all the units from Kingdoms. “

World War 2 CTW for Rise of Nation with Thrones and Patriors add-on
WW2 total conversion.

Future Wars – Tactical Simulator for Sins of a Solar Empire
Star Trek total conversion.

Star Wars – Clone Wars for Star Wars: Empire At War
“A total conversion mod for Empire at War / Forces of Corruption. It takes place right after the Battle of Geonosis in “Attack of the Clones”. Replacing the Empire, Rebels and Zann Consortium with the Galactic Republic, Seperatist Alliance and Pirates.”

FREEWARE

CutCopyPasteGnome
“CutCopyPasteGnome is a puzzle game created by Luke Brown, where the player’s objective is to assist a gnome in reaching the exit without any direct control over his movements. This will require manipulating objects with a couple of editor functions, accessible by right-clicking on the game screen and selecting the tool you would like to use.”-Indiegames

Dynamic Systems
“A physics-based puzzle game where you must help a ball find its way to a goal.”-JayisGames

Fragger
“From Harold Brenes comes the next great outdoor pastime in Fragger, a sweet little puzzle game on a physics engine. With grenades. It’s every bit as wholesome and appealing as golf, except you’ll actually enjoy yourself, instead of just pretending to.”-JayisGames

Phantom Mansion II: The Arabian Sea
“Phantom Mansion II: Treasure of the Seven Seas is the second batch of tile puzzles from Gimme 5 Games starring spiky haired little Hector and his endless quest for treasure. Push crates, dodge the cutest little itsy-bitsy monsters, unlock doors, ride magic carpets over a spiraling vortex of horror. I”-JayisGames

Shocker: The Electrifying Super Hero
“Shocker: The Electrifying Super Hero is a puzzle game created by Alexitrón for Game Jolt’s Shocking contest, where you are in control of a hero entrusted with the job of saving the planet from a major technology-related disaster. Each area has several blue nodes and a yellow exit point, with your objective being to reach the escape portal without accidentally sliding out of the screen.”-Indiegames

Zodiac Reactor
“Zodiac Reactor plays like an intense bout of hyperspace Simon. The reactor’s purpose is nothing less than creating brand new stars; your job is to collect the Elemental Particles necessary to fuel the process.”- JayisGames

America’s Army 3
My experience with America’s Army 3 has been very rewarding thus far. It feels like the game has an older, more mature player base than what you’d encounter in a contemporary console shooter, and it’s a game that will appeal to those who like realism and tactics. With that said, there are still plenty of problems, such as glitchy animations and weapons bugs, and the entire game could probably get a tightening of its network code to reduce lag. Still, it’s hard to argue with the experience or the price (which is free). This is a shooter that’s more intelligent than most and that requires more teamwork and coordination, but that makes the rewards of success that much more enjoyable.- 8.4 from IGN

Bango!
Puzzle platformer.

Barbarian Onslaught:The Secret of Steel
Side-scrolling hack-and-slash.

Being Struck By Lightning is Probably the Best Way That You Could Die On Account of All of It’s Awesomeness’
“The game was created for Gamejolt’s ‘Shocking’ Game contest. Gameplay-wise, the game extends about as far at its name in terms of sheer agonising design. Initially simple, the combination of tight jumping and evil level design make this the most keyboard-bashing experience I’ve had in a while. It’s worth holding out and playing on when you feel like you can’t take anymore, just to see how utterly harsh it really gets.”-Indiegames

Bubble Cannon 2
Physics driven action game based around “bouncing, reflecting and poping”

Crane Wars

Double Edged.
Awesome cartoonish side-scrolling hack-and-slash.

Friendly Fire

G-e-n-e-r-i-c
Simple fun platformer.

The Polynomial
A beautiful 3D space shooter with mathematically generated fractal scenery and models.

Push
“Push is a twisted platformer all about moving the level around to reach the goal. The WASD keys move the little expressionless guy around, while clicking the mouse button will push all the surrounding blocks away from the centre of your click, allowing him to progress past originally solid walls.”-Indiegames

Use Boxmen
“A 2D puzzle platformer with cleverly-designed levels, where players are required to collect a cube in each level to progress. The trick is that certain areas can’t be completed without the aid of your friends, who will mimic your moves when called upon to help. Experimentation is half of the fun, while executing your master plan to perfection can be extremely satisfying, although the link to the video walkthrough might be too tempting for players to resist when faced with a challenge that seems insurmountable at first”-Indiegames

vel.shock(a)
“Another entry for the Gamejolt ‘Shocking’ Contest, vel.shock(a) (or ‘vel dot shock alpha’) is all about using the enemy’s fire against them. Turrets pop up all over the screen and it’s your job to send out shockwaves by clicking the mouse button to bounce their missiles straight back at them.”-Indiegames

The Dead Case
A cartoonish adventure game where you play as a ghost.

The Freewill Cycle: Volume 1
SF adventure game that plays like a mix of Myst and Escape the Room game.

The Fun Fair
Unique minigames filled adventure game where you explore a theme park.

How To Raise A Dragon
“regory Weir, he of the peculiar and splendid I Fell In Love With The Majesty Of Colours, has created another exquisitely minimal, decision-led adventure. This time it’s about raising a dragon, obviously. But what might be entirely obvious is that what you dragon eats, and how they decide to interact with human beings, is going to ultimately decide their fate. As with Weir’s previous games, it’s got a distinct beauty to its pixellated, multiple-pathed tale”-RockPaperShotgun

Kidnapped by Aliens
“Kidnapped by Aliens, shows how to make an extensive escape game and do it right. The surreal but perfect background sound and puzzles that make sense without being too obvious turn this game into an enjoyable experience.”-JayisGames

Mystery House in Japan
“While not the magnum opus of the escape game genre, Mystery House in Japan is fun, quick, and indisputably well-designed, perfect for a brief break in your day. While Bianco Bianco may not be the most stunningly original designer out there, it can always be counted upon to provide a solidly constructed and entertaining experience. Enjoy!”-JayisGames

The Several Journeys of Reemus: Chapter 3
Macarbee cartoon adventure.

Smile For Me
“In Smile For Me, you are a recently deceased person who, seeing the tears of a grieving loved one, seeks to bring joy to that individual. But how, exactly, are you going to accomplish that? In your new home, a silvery room high in the sky, you’ll have to solve puzzles and use the heavenly tools at your disposal to bring a moment of happiness to your bereaved beloved” -JayisGames

Vanguard Princess
Japanese 2D fighter

Crunchball 3000
Futuristic violent sports game

Kickabout League
Great browser football game with unique mouse+WASD based controls.

MODS

FREEWARE
Castle Corp
“The latest offering from Nitrome is almost the opposite of a standard tower defense game. Instead of building structures along a path to repel a gang of marauders, you play as the characters on the path trying to destroy the fixed objects shooting at you. Your mission? To protect your shareholders. Welcome to a long long time ago, when economic recessions went medieval.”-JayisGames

2009 COMMERCIAL GAMES

Bracken Tor: The Time of Tooth and Claw
New horror adventure game from Shadow Tor Studios, makers of Barrow Hill, which got 8.0 from Adventuregamers

Faerie Solitaire
The game’s simplicity and rudimentary artistic design aside, there’s well over a dozen hours of content here. And since there is an inherent randomness to each hand, replay value is very high. Simply put, Faerie Solitaire gives you plenty of solitaire for your buck.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Prototype
Prototype is a game with many cool features. However, it lacks many of the finishing touches that make for a great and memorable game. To say the graphics and game engine need work is a massive understatement and many of the missions are cookie cutter in design without any real focus or attention to detail. Thankfully, Alex Mercer’s absorbing and shape shifting powers manage to overcome many of the shortcomings of Prototype. Though the missions themselves aren’t anything special, the vast array of powers provides their own variety and flair.- 7.5 from IGN

Ghostbusters: The Video
If you dug the movies, you should dig Ghostbusters: The Video Game. There are some moments that cause the game to stumble, but you’re getting a new tale in the Ghostbusters canon, fun gameplay, a whole bunch of stuff to destroy, and some cool ghosts to scan. I felt that the game’s ending was a bit flat and the romantic interest was forced, but Ghostbusters was fun — too bad you don’t get the multiplayer action the home consoles do.- 7.5 from IGN

Homefront
Alternative history shooter from Kaos Works, makers of Frontlines: Fuels of War (7.8 from IGN)

Max Payne 3

MODS

Lantan University for Neverwinter Nights with all expansion packs.
Fun little module that takes place in magic university.

The Seven Shades of Mercury for Thief 2

Action Half-Life 2: The Sauce Of Death for Half Life 2
A mod that turns HL2 multiplayer into a insane rendition of the kickass old american and hongkong action movies

Curse for Half Life 2
“Curse episodes is an egyptian themed action/horror/puzzle/exploration FPS where you can kill mummies, evil wizards with a huge spiky club and break expensive egyptian furniture and pottery using telekinesis!”

Radiator Episode 1 for Half Life 2
Experimental, one-room Half-Life 2 mod Radiator successfully creates a sad, beautiful sense of moment and place through minimalistic events and controls. Oh, and it also teaches basic astronomy to boot.- Rockpapershotgun

Darkest Hour: Europe ‘44-’45 for Red Orchestra
“Darkest Hour: Europe ‘44-’45 is a western front modification for Red Orchestra. It focuses on the Allied invasion from the Normandy campaign in 1944, through the failed Operation Market Garden in Holland and beyond the Battle of the Bulge. It covers not only the intense infantry battles the campaign is so well known for, but also includes the epic large scale tank battles that took place in the later stages of the war.”

Entrapped for Witcher
“The witcher, tired after a long day of travel through Temeria, arrives at a village, which seems like any other. He wants to stay for a night at the local inn and to move on, but he will have to face a serious danger. He will find himself entrapped in the village and the way out will not be peaceful.”

Star trek-Universe at war for Nexus: the Jupiter Incident

FREEWARE

Pillars
Fun little browser game where your objective is to fly a ship while avoiding crashing into pillars.

Shy Dwarf
Short, but adorable platformer.

Somnia
Somnia is a 3D first-person perspective outing revolving around light and shadows. Each of the puzzles must be completed by flipping between the shadow and the 3D-world. Platforms which seem unreachable are quite easily accessed through 2D shadow platforms.- Indiegames

Little Wheel
Atmospheric and original point and click adventure game.

Morbid
Creepy adventure game that takes place in XIVth century Europe, just after the end of black plague.

The Mirror Lied
A weird, surreal and hella creppy game made with RPGMaker

The Pretender: Part One
Very nice puzzle platformer

Takishawa is Dead
Difficult and surreal platformer.

Star Beacons

Starcom
Awesome space shooter with elements of exploration and a great storyline

Casual Space

2009 COMMERCIAL GAMES

East India Company
Epic strategy game based on the exploits and adventures of the infamous 18th century East India Companies

Dark Wind
When it comes to strategic vehicular combat there has never been a game as engaging and as robust as Dark Wind.(…)Anyone who is interested in turn based strategy games, car combat, or an MMORPG that has perma death and permanent losses look no further. Now if you’ll excuse me, I looted a heavy gattling gun yesterday and I need to go slaughter some hapless victim with it.- 8.1 from GameTunnel

Dark Souls
While not the BEST RPG out there, if you’re an RPG aficionado, you’ll find yourself parting with twenty dollars and feeling completely fine with it. The strong characters and the impressive battles define Dark Souls, and are sure to make fans swoon.- 7.4 from GameTunnel

Black Mirror 2
The original scored 7.2 at IGN.

Altitude
If a little bit of action dog fighting is on your palette Altitude is a sure fire cure for those blues. The demo is extremely open, giving you access to two great planes, one of which is the plane I use anyway even with the full version. This game is absolutely worth downloading.- 8.0 from GameTunnel

The Adventures of Rick Rocket
While there’s not a lot to Rick Rocket, it does what it does pretty well.(…) Is Rick Rocket unique? No, not really. Is it still fresh and fun to play? Most definitely.- 7.1 from GameTunnel

Delicious – Emily’s Taste of Fame
Delicious – Emily’s Taste of Fame is a truly wonderful game for anyone: young or old, new to the series or well-acquainted, and has rightfully proven itself as one of the best time management titles released yet.- 9.0 from Gamezebo

Treasure Seekers 2: The Enchanted Canvases
Treasure Seekers 2: The Enchanted Canvases doesn’t offer anything new or startling, but it’s a fun, well-designed game that most players will enjoy. - 8.0 from Gamezebo

Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online
Browser based golf sim.

Left 4 Dead 2

Front Mission Evolved
Third person shooter spin-off the famouse franchise.

Tales of Monkey Island
The classic adventure series is returning as in form of episodic game developed by Telltale, makers of Sam and Max episodes.

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
Ramake of one of the very best adventure games ever made

Just Cause 2

Rogue Warior

Fallout 3: Point Lookout
4th DLC for Fallout 3.

LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
The original got 8.0 from IGN

Blur
Arcade racer from Bizarre Creations, makers of Project Gotham Racing series( PGR 1 and 3 both got 8.8 from IGN, while PGR2
score 9.5)

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
Sequel to 8.2 action rpg.

The Saboteur
Sandbox stealth action-game by Pandemic set in Nazi occupied Paris.

2010 COMMERCIAL GAMES

15 Days
Thriller adventure game from House of Tales, makers of Moment of Silence and Overclocked, which both got 8+ reviews at Adventuregamers

Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island
Monkey Island inspired comedic adventure game from Autumn Moon, company created by ex-LucasArts guys. Autumn Moon’s previous game: Vampyre Story scored 7.6 at IGN

Jade Dynasty
Martial arts MMO from company that developed Perfect World Online (a MMO that scored 7.5 at IGN)

Supreme Commander 2
Sequel to one of best RTSes of 2007 (it recieved 9.0 from IGN)

Metal Gear Solid: Rising

Final Fantasy XIV Online
New MMO from Square Soft

Brink
TPP Shooter from Splash Damage, makers of Quake Wars (8.5 from IGN)

FREEWARE

ClickPLAY!
ClickPLAY! is a short puzzle game that is similar to Nekogames’ Hoshi Saga series, where players would have to find a play button hidden somewhere in every level to progress. This usually requires completing a certain task, solving a puzzle, or finishing an arcade sequence so that the play button is revealed for you to click on.- Indiegames

Go Home Ball
Physics driven platformer

Azul Baronis
Retro space shoot-em-up

Chaser
This is simply fantastic. Using the arrow keys, the aim of Chaser is to catch a small stick man who is running away from you through a black, grassy world of randomly placed trees, rocks and bushes.- Indiegames

Chup
Oldschool platformer with unique jumping mechanics.

De Toren
A delightful puzzle platformer from the developer of Lightmare and Consumer Culture, where the player’s objective is to reach the top of a tower safely with at least the minimum amount of points required to clear a level- Indiegames

Heavy Weapons
Quality arena shooter with abstract graphics.

Polkadot
Polkadot is a charming little platformer created by the developer of Sworrd Buster and Social Experiment, in which you play a rabbit searching for a party to attend. This will require solving a couple of puzzles and also conversing with the characters you meet during your short trip.- Indiegames

Time Warp
A Guitar Hero like rhytm game.

TypeFighter
Typing game where scripted action sequences are played out according to how well you do when prompted to type a set of words.- Indiegames

Escape from Dr. Ichie’s Factory
We all know what Bianco-Bianco does best, and they do it again. Everything we know them for is here: puzzles that make sense without being too obvious, photorealistic graphics (and a nice panning system from screen to screen), a little pixel-hunting (but not a lot), and (*sigh*) no soundtrack whatsoever. I know some games are over-the-top with it, but I wouldn’t have minded at least a *ping* when you picked up an item.- JayisGames

Lights
Lights is the new room escape game from Neutral, the authors of Vision, which was our choice and yours for the best escape game of 2008. Once again, Neutral doesn’t shake up the formula, choosing instead to focus on inventive puzzles, gorgeous rendered scenes, and lasering your mind with likability rays.- JayisGames

2009 COMMERCIAL GAMES

Plants vs. Zombies
From the moment we saw the bizarre music video for Plants vs. Zombies we knew we wanted to play this game. The end product is really fantastic and stands right up there with PopCap’s other hits like Peggle and Bejewelled. It has that elusive “special something” that gets its hooks in you and convinces you to forego food, sleep, and other essentials just to see what the next level has in store. If you’ve never played a tower defense game before, this is the one you should try. And if you’re sick to death of tower defense games, this one’s gonna bring you back into the fold.-9.0from IGN

The Chronicles of Spellborn
While The Chronicles of Spellborn is certainly a fun game, it has a very casual feeling about it. The sort of game that you can readily put away without having to get “just one more kill”. There’s a lot of solo content at your disposal, enough to make your way to the Level 50 cap. But the thought of doing it all over again with a new character isn’t particularly on my to-do list, and a lack of PvP content and epic battles will likely turn off hardcore players.-7.5from IGN

MLB Dugout Heroes
At the end of the day Dugout Heroes is a free-to-play game that you’ll be able to enjoy for some time, regardless if you invest your hard-earned dough into campus currency. When you get down to it, it’s just a free-spirited, fun game of baseball.-7.4from IGN

Sunset Studio – Love on the High Seas
You’ll spend quite a lot of time with Sunset Studio: Love on the High Seas, and enjoy every minute of it. -8.0from Gamezebo

Yard Sale Hidden Treasures: Lucky Junction
Yard Sale Hidden Treasures: Lucky Junction is great fun, and pretty long, too, especially once you unlock Tour Mode by finishing the game.-8.0from Gamezebo

Fallout 3: Broken Steel
Lifting the level cap breathes new life into a great game, but shouldn’t totally overshadow a new series of quests that is a lot of fun. By extending the game beyond the main quest, Bethesda has delivered exactly what the fans have been asking for.-8.5from IGN

Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Adventures: The Last Resort
A funny, faithful, flawed adventure for the inventor and his dog.-7.0from IGN

Free Realms
With a nearly flawless launch under their belts and several updates already made to the game to fix minor bugs with the game, Free Realms is off to a really solid start. Even with its flaws, it’s a lot of fun and there is so much to do, that even though leveling a single class to the current cap of 20 might not take very long, leveling all of them and going through all the quest content in the world, as well as enjoying the trading card game and tower defense games, amounts to many dozens of hours of gameplay. It’s worth checking out for any fan of casual games, RPG games, trading card games, tower defense games (yes these games are so good that fans of the genre should check it out just for that!) or pet training games, whether you are 5 or 50.-8.8from IGN

Aztaka
Gorgeous handpainted sidescrolling RPG

Tradewinds Odyssey
The good news is if you preferred the gameplay of earlier Tradewinds titles to last year’s Caravans, you’ll probably really like Tradewinds Odyssey. If you liked Caravans a lot, you’ll still enjoy Odyssey too — just be prepared for a simpler experience. And if you’re new to the series, but you’re up for some quest-based voyaging through Ancient Greece, hop on board! -8.0from Gamezebo

Modern Warfare 2
Sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which scored 9.4 on IGN.

MODS

VHR Stockcar 5.0 for rfFactor
VHR Stockcar have released a new version of their stockcar mod for rFactor, that brings NASCAR’s top divisions to the simulation.VHR Stockcar 5.0 is available both as standalone version and as a normal rFactor mod, it includes the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.-VirtualR.net

Deadlock v2.0 for Making History Gold
A mod that fully converts the Making History Gold to a WW1 game

Modern Combat for Men of War
“A multiplayer only mod featuring modern-day military vehicles and equipment.”

Unreal Tactics Beta 1.0 for Unreal Tournament 3
“Unreal Tactics is a turn based tactics modification for Unreal Tournament 3, in which you take control a security detail in the employment of the Liandri, Axon, or Izanagi Corporations as they attempt to harvest rare ores from a frozen ice planet.”

Bloody Pulp Fiction for Blood
18 levels long SP mod.

Respect and Honor 1944 for Counterstrike Source

Angels Fall First: Planetstorm beta for Unreal Tournament 3
“A team-based planetary assault game fought both in space and on the ground”

Archasis II for Unreal Tournament 3
“A moderately-paced first/third person shooter total conversion for UT3 set in a fantasy world of swords and magic. It features RPG-like player progression, objective-oriented gameplay, a variety of character classes, multi-path skill trees, and a hybrid of 3rd-person melee and 1st-person ranged combat”

Hostile Takeover 2050 for Unreal Tournament 3
A team-based multiplayer FPS mod

Leviathan for Unreal Tournament 3
“A fearsome armada of aliens is descending upon the city of Arteria, hell-bent on devouring every last thing in their path. You are one of them. Take control of an alien Drone and soar through the sky-high city of Arteria while protecting your Leviathan Mothership, destroying enemy fighters, turrets, and structures along the way. Collect energy cores from fallen enemies and feed them to the Leviathan to heal it. Then watch in awe as it devours entire buildings.”

Noontide for Unreal Tournament 3
“Noontide is a high-speed Hack’n'Slash in a similar spirit to Devil May Cry.”

Blight on the Barrow for Neverwinter Nights with both expansion packs installed
“A higher level module set in the Forgotten Realms north of the Great Dale in the former Rawlinswood.”

Lord Soth for Neverwinter Nights
Short horror module set in Dragonlance setting

Streets of Calimport for Neverwinter Nights with both expansion packs installed
City-based module

Labyrinth for Neverwinter Nights
Based on classic Jim Henson’s 1986 movie.

Chronicles of Reeb for Oblivion
Large SP mod that will take you to a new world with a new main quest and some sidequests.

FREEWARE GAMES
The Blue Beanie
Charming little adventure game in vein of Samorost.

The Gutter
Exploration art game.

Llama Adventure
Quirky fun text adventure.

The Scene of the Crime
A detective-themed escape the room game with nice production values.

Small Favor
From the excellent gameplay to the rich storytelling, A Small Favor is one of the best online adventures out there.- JayisGames

Toys
Solid escape the room game.

Tomb of the Aztecs
A roguelike with raytraced graphics and real-time combat.

All Of Our Friends Are Dead
An atmospheric run and gun platformer. It’s pretty short (I finished it in under two hours), and what’s going on isn’t very clear, but it does a good job at immersing the player into a strange alien world and has nice and stylized visuals. To me it felt like a cross between Glum Buster and the final alien levels of Contra and Super C.

Droplets
From the top of the gameplay area, drop the pixelated long-eared “droplets” in the right place and the right pixel, at the right time and the right angle, to collect carrots and enough points to advance to the next level- JayisGames

Fox Fyre
Fox Fyre is a stylish bunker warfare game with an old-school vibe, heralding back to classics like Scorched Earth and Death Tank- JayisGames

Ivory Springs
Ivory Springs is an incomplete project that is short on length but packs enough content to entertain for about half an hour or so. The game is an enjoyable exploration platformer which features great background art and sprite designs, a catchy soundtrack, directional shooting, Mega Man-type slides, and memorable boss fights.- Indiegames

Pizza City
In Pizza City, you play the role of a delivery boy who has to help Uncle Tony distribute five hundred tasty pizzas to his customers around all parts of the town. This requires going back and forth between Tony’s pizza place and the destination of each delivery, with occasional stops at the gas station to fill up the fuel tank of your car.- Indiegames

Miracle Witch
In Miracle Witch you assume the role of an apprentice magic caster named Polfe, chosen by her peers for a quest to defeat the evil king Yeah Walusa and his invading party of monsters. This involves going around the island dispatching creatures, acquiring new spell books and searching for treasures to loot.- Indiegames

Replicat
In Replicat, from Mindless Labs, we see the same innovative mouse avoidance mechanic employed in Time 4 Cat, only this time with the warp drive pushed all the way to “insane.” - JayisGames

Seed of Destruction
Okay, so at first glance, Seed of Destruction, the newest title from Florian Himsl (Komix) of Twin Hobo Rocket and Coil infamy, may not seem like it’s for everyone. Playing the role of a gleeful fellow perched atop a gargantuan sperm, you zip through the city at breakneck speeds, squashing people beneath your impressive girth and deflecting missiles back at their shooters. But I’m sure there’s a very good reason for it! A- JayisGames

Shift 4
In Shift 4 you’re in control of an astronaut whose ship was attacked by a giant squid, forcing our protagonist to make an emergency landing at the closest planet- Indiegames

The Spider’s Bride
Spyke Games is here to tell you a story of love surpassing all odds, and bug juices in The Spider’s Bride, a fast-paced game of mop-balancing skill.- Jayisgames

Squid Yes, Not So Octopus 2: Squid Harder
Sequel to a great arena shooter.

Stunt Pilot 2
Stunt Pilot 2 is the long-awaited sequel to Rock Solid Arcade’s original precision aerobatic flying game. While the basics of the original are carried over, Stunt Pilot 2 adds a number of features that make it well worth a look.- JayisGames

Swords & Sandals IV
Mario Party-like collection of minigames

Tower of Greed
Tower of Greed, by Epic Shadow, is a game about the banker’s favorite deadly sin, in the form of an aggressively retro, fast-moving platformer. You’ll need agile fingers for this one, and a realistic attitude about your own compulsions.- JayisGames

Vector Locust
Abstract geometric shooter with an in-cockpit perspective.

Cargo Bridge
Physics based building game

Minim
The objective is simple, as it is in all great casual games. Each level shows you a molecule made up of number atoms and modifier atoms. Your job is to combine connected atoms until there is only one left, which then vanishes in a puff of total existence failure.- JayisGames

Striptease
Striptease is a story-oriented puzzler with some inappropriate images that should not be viewed by younger audiences, although Stephen has made it rather clear from the title of his latest work. It also happens to be another one of his experimental releases which explores the use of gameplay elements in surprising new ways.- Indiegames

Super Karosh
A crazy puzzle game where your goal is to figure out ways to commit suicide

Battleforge
This introguing card-based RTS from Phenomic and EA is now avaible for free.

Mars TD
Nice little tower defense game.

Metalix TD
Metalix TD offers a refreshing change of pace to the tower defense genre- JayisGames

Minecraft
Sandbox building game

Moon Rocks
Moon Rocks is an impressive little shooter-defense game that’s pretty challenging and fun. Loosely inspired by the classic arcade game Missile Command, you’re tasked with defending your little chunk of the planet’s surface from an onslaught of asteroids, ice comets, enemy ships and plenty of other things that threaten to turn your base into Swiss cheese.- JayisGames

Volvo The Game
A driving simulation containing various Volvo cars and two tracks from Simbin (makers of GTR and Race series)

BASE
Base jumping sim

2009 COMMERCIAL GAMES

Plan it Green
It might sound a bit odd, but Plan it Green is a great way to forget real environmental problems for a few hours by solving them virtually. No matter how much you are interested in ecological issues, this game is definitely one of the strongest entry into the resource management genre since its original pioneer, Build-A-Lot.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Runes of Magic
While Runes of Magic isn’t the most polished or original MMO on the market, it does a lot of things right. The game is deep enough to appeal to hardcore veterans, yet is also flexible and addictive enough to appeal to more casual fans. If you’re seeking a game to scratch your primitive level grinding and loot hording itch, Runes of Magic is precisely what the doctor ordered. In addition, the game offers a wide breadth of options to the player who desires to seek it out. At its worst, Runes of Magic is a solid, by-the-books affair. At its best, Runes of Magic is a surprisingly deep game and is a great showcase for what a free-to-play MMO can be. Check it out; what do you have to lose?-7.9 from IGN

Allods Online
A MMORPG from Nival Interactive, makers of games like Silent Storm (8.1 from IGN), Etherlords 1(8.1 from IGN), Etherlords 2 (8.0 from IGN), Evil Islands (8.7 from IGN), Blitzkrieg (8.2 from IGN) and Blitzkrieg 2(8.4 from IGN)

Cate West – The Velvet Keys
Cate West: The Velvet Keys beautifully shows that players should expect more from hidden object games than just a jumble of junk and a shopping list. It’s a long, smart, extremely polished game that sets the standard for the genre. Developers should look on Velvet Keys with a mixture of fear and awe, because it’s a yardstick by which future hidden object games should be judged.-9.0 from Gamezebo

Paradise Quest
Infinitely greater than the sum of its parts, we’ll nonetheless be honest: Paradise Quest can get repetitious, and won’t truly wow so much as surprise and delight. But it’s obvious that creator I-Play rolled out the red carpet for this production, and it shows, with desktop veterans, wide-eyed newcomers and Mother Nature lovers of all ages the clear beneficiaries. All due respect given…- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Samantha Swift and the Golden Touch
Uneven though it may be, Golden Touch works hard to make it up to you. It has a pleasant hand-drawn art style, great music, and is quite lengthy, even for pros. You may scratch your head at some of its wacky leaps of logic, but still find yourself charmed, just the same.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Winemaker Extraordinaire
Winemaker Extraordinaire is definitely a recommendable game for both fans of and newcomers to the genre. The quest to help Maria bringing her family business up to its former glory is undeniably entertaining and compelling. It is up to you to find out if this wine is to your taste.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Cogs
Sliding puzzles appeal to a certain kind of puzzle fan, one who will dedicate a large amount of time to arranging the pieces to ensure that the picture or numbers work exactly the way they’re supposed to. Cogs will definitely appeal to these players, with a large number of puzzles and three modes that can keep players rather busy. However, the extreme difficulty, coupled with the lack of a hint system, makes Cogs more of a diversion that you’ll probably move on from quickly than something that you’ll sink a lot of time into.-7.3 from IGN

Rail Simulator 2: RailWorks

And Yet It Moves
And Yet It Moves cements Broken Rules’ status as a developer to watch. Expect big things from these guys. While it’s only a few hours long, And Yet It Moves is one of the most addictive and refreshing games I’ve played this year. If you’ve been wondering what innovation is left to be explored in 2D platformers, spend some time in this bizarre world. The game empowers the player and lets us perform crazy stunts that have heretofore been impossible. My one complaint is that there isn’t quite enough gameplay here to justify the $15 price tag. But, hey, what other game lets you trick a chimpanzee into throwing feces at itself?-8.4 from IGN

Stalker Call of Pripyat
Second stand-alone expansion

2010 COMMERCIAL GAMES

Torchlight
A MMORPG from the team who made Mythos

World of Tanks
A MMO PvP tank combat game set in World War 2 setting from Wargaming.net,akers of Massive Assault (8.4 from IGN) and upcoming Order of War

Alien vs Predator 3

MODS

Otherworld Release 7 for Medieval: Total War 2
“This mod features: A large brand new fantasy map with lots of regions Playable Aztecs, Timurids and Mongols, with improved build trees and recruitment (especially for the Aztecs) A new playable fantasy faction: the Formosans Normans and Saxons added to the campaign”

Third Age – Total War for Medieval 2: Total War With add-on
Middle Earth mod

Dark World for Half -life 2
Single player survival horror mod

Project 25 for Half -life 2
A singleplayer mod

Boiling for Max Payne 2
Great noir Max Payne 2 modification by the authors of Mona: The Assassin and 7th Serpent: Genesis.

The Haunted for Unreal Tournament 3
“The Haunted is a fast paced thirdperson horror-action game with focus on a intense multiplayer experience that is all about making a stand and liberating cursed places from the minions of evil. The game features several multiplayer modes such as coop or demons .vs. humans where enemies are spawned and controlled by players.”

The Dark Times for Battlefront II
“The Dark Times is a singleplayer-driven mod with aims to reinterpret the original design behind Battlefront II. However, while making a number of changes to enhance the multiplayer experience, at its core, Dark Times aims to demonstrate how the singleplayer experience could be a more engaging one than it already is. The Dark Times uses the palette of the time period between Star Wars Episodes III and IV; drawing heavily upon material presented in Lucasarts’ recent “The Force Unleashed.”"

BSG Galactica: Dawn of War for Freelancer

The Accursed Tower for Neverwinter Nights with Hordes of the Underdark add-on
Based on TSR’s 1999 Module by R.A. Salvatore and the Seven Swords.

Legends of Revolution for Civilization 4 with Beyond the Sword add-on
“The Goal of Legends of Revolution is to simulate a “commercially viable” expansion pack. As with any good expansion pack a new base concept is introduced: Revolutions, which carries with it concepts like barbarian civs, battles effecting national borders, and civil wars. Further certain gaping holes in the unit progression of default cIV are filled; like the much needed bombard, and steam ship navies of the Industrial era are flushed out. Overall Legends of Revolution has been built with the idea that more is not better, rather the goal has been to add in needed units for balance, and concepts that enhance gameplay.”

FREEWARE GAMES

Runes of Magic
One of best free MMORPGs.

Bipole
From the labs of Spil Games comes Bipole, a physics-heavy spin-cycle of a puzzler, conceived as part of the recent Global Game Jam. The goal is simple: annihilate all particles by colliding them with particles of the opposite charge- Jay is Games

Garden
A relaxing click-a-thon by a Mr Michael Todd (or Spyeart, as he calls his site). Supplied with a dull canvas, the idea is to use a combination of mana and focus to paint a beautiful garden scene.- Indiegames

Gray
Gray is a mob control simulation game created by Intuition Games’ duo Mike Boxleiter and Greg Wohlwend, where the challenge is to convince the rioters to change sides in an attempt to stop the conflict for good. This basically involves matching the wave patterns that appear when you try to strike up a conversation with any of the mob individuals.- Indiegames

Headspin: Storybook
Headspin: Storybook is basically a ‘Spot The Differences’ game, but the way it is all presented is rather lovely. Provided with an open book, all the pop-up on the right-hand page must be the exact mirror image of the left-hand page to progress. There’s a time limit involved, of course, and clicking each object will make it spin and face the opposite direction-Indiegames

Mind Wall
Mind Wall is a puzzler that is similar to Kokoromi’s Super Hypercube, where players would have to fit a coloured block through a wall before it is done automatically for them. The shape in play will always appear as a silhouette at the bottom left corner of the screen, and a one-square hole has to be made somewhere on the wall before this shape will pass through successfully.- Indiegames

Neon Maze
Playing equal parts as a maze, a hide-and-seek game and a guessing game, the idea is to run around a glowing labyrinth in your little mouse-controlled blur-pod while attempting to find the exit platform-Jay is Games

Portwall
Short and simple Portal clone

Power Up
Power Up is a physics-based puzzler with a high-voltage bolt of challenging fun that lasts for up to 32 levels.- Jay is Games

The Bryant Collection
The Bryant Collection is essentially a collection of unrelated IF stories, originally sourced from a box of notes and story drafts that the developer had acquired from a yard sale sometime in 2008. The envelope marked ‘Undelivered Love Letter’ is this writer’s pick, simply because of the way the author has limited your mobility and actions to one single scene in an airport.- Indiegames

G-Sensor
Despite not having quite the professional polish of some other high-quality room escape games, G-Sensor is nonetheless solid, well-plotted and very enjoyable; what deficiencies may exist are mainly made up for by the game’s excellent puzzles.- Jay is Games

Loom Blend
Japanese developer Place of Light has bequeathed onto us Loom Blend, another high-quality escape game to satisfy our mid-week cravings. Most excellent! The game’s scenario is nothing new: you are in a room filled with diabolical puzzles and more than a few secrets, and must employ all of your wits to escape. A simple premise, but one that Place of Light does very well.- Jay is Games

Mental Repairs, Inc
Excellent adventure game.

Quest in the Dark
Quest in the Dark is an exceptionally cute and surprisingly engaging point-and-click adventure. There’s not nearly the depth you’ll find in similar games, but the upside is that you can feel comfortable sharing this title with the little ones.- Jay is Games

Today I Die
Unique adventure/exploration game with wonderful atmosphere.

Windosill
Windosill(…) lets you explore a surreal environment by touching things, watching their incredibly smooth animation as they respond to you, and unpeeling their internal logic. You do travel from place to place this time, but as with all of Smith’s work, the focus is always, always on playfulness and discovery.-Jay is Games

The Arrow of Time
An action game where you defend your fortress against the invading forces using only your bow and arrow.

Androkids 2
If my daughters were to make their own platform game this is exactly what it would look like.- Jay is Games

Bang! Heroes
Bang! Heroes is a western platforming shoot-em-up with some pretty nice Steampunk-style graphics and a lot of gun-totting.- Indiegames

Bummin’ a Ride
Bummin’ a Ride is essentially an Oregon Trail-type game with small arcade games replacing the usual random events found in the original. Your character is a bum who had just inherited a million dollars, but to collect the money he must make his way from one end of the country to the other in under twenty-five days or lose it all to a needy orphanage.- Indiegames

Crush the Castle
Crush the Castle is a remake inspired by Liam Bowmers’ Castle Clout, boasting much superior graphics and a better interface than the original had ever offered. The game basically involves knocking down one castle after another with your massive trebuchet machine, as you travel around the map visiting each of the twenty-four locations that the resistance had claimed as their own territories.- Indiegames

Glum Buster
Glum Buster is a charityware puzzle adventure game which took CosMind four years to create with the Game Maker engine. Comparisons to Seiklus are likely, since both share more than a couple of similarities in terms of sparseness in storytelling efforts and a heavy emphasis on exploration.- Indiegames

Paper Moon
Excellent little platformer with great art style.

Pandaland
Short platformer.

RotatSpin
Incredibly frustrating, but at the same time strangely addictive platformer

Sentokun in Kamakura
Quirky 3d action-adventure.

Spewer
Spewer is a new physics-based platformer created by the prolific Edmund McMillen and Eli Piilonen, featuring music by Gravity Hook and Meat Boy music composer Daniel Baranowsky. You are in control of a test subject named Spewer, who must escape from the clutches of a scientist by surviving all fifty-five rooms inside a maze-like laboratory, one level at a time.- Indiegames

Toxic Sonic Zombie Massacre
Toxic Sonic Zombie Massacre is an action platformer where you play any of the three members from the French rock band, determined make it to the venue of their own gig before time runs out. Every character has at least one special skill at their disposal, and you’ll be required to switch between them occasionally to overcome some of the obstacles that stand in your path to fame and fortune.- Indiegames

The Great War of Prefectures
The Great War of Prefectures plays like a cross between Risk and a Real-Time Strategy game, with Japan’s prefectures (analogous to other countries’ states or provinces) serving as the territories you fight over.-Jay is Games

Pirate Defense
Fun pirate themed take on tower defense genre.

Puzzle Defense
Puzzle Defence, from Dibblez, is a charming mash-up of the SameGame play mechanic with RPG elements. It’s not quite on the same level as Knightfall, but it gives you 20 levels of relaxed, undemanding gameplay, and the graphics are cute.- Jay is Games

2009 COMMERCIAL GAMES

Wonderburg
Wonderburg delivers a top-notch gaming experience in a unique setting which can be recommended to every fan of the genre.-8.0 from Gamezebo

Order of War
a WWII wargame published by SquareEnix and developed by Wargaming.net, makers of Massive Assault (8.4 from IGN)

The Filmmaker
Indie horror adventure game from maker of Lifestream and Shady Brooks (both got 7.0 from Adventuregamers)

Caster
Caster is a game with distinctly more advantages than pitfalls and provides a couple of hours of good blasting fun.- 7.5 from Out of Eight website

Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child
The third instalment in the Dream Chronicles series, Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child is another visually stunning Myst-like adventure that transports players into a fantasy world of fairies. Like its predecessors, the excursion is immersive and fun but over all too quickly.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Flux Family Secrets: The Ripple Effect
In spite of a few nitpicks here and there, chock up another enjoyable, if not entirely original, hidden object / adventure game hybrid in Flux Family Secrets: The Ripple Effect.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

New Star Grand Prix
New Star Grand Prix generally does a good job adapting the finer aspects of New Star Soccer to F1-style arcade racing. If the top-down perspective isn’t enough to hamper your enjoyment, then you’ll find close, intense racing (much more so than the real-life series)(…)In all, the transition to motorsport has gone smoothly and fans of top-down racing games will find competitive racing with some career management options.- 7.5 from Out of Eight website

Assassin’s Creed 2

Painkiller: Resurrection

2010 COMMERCIAL GAMES

Six Days in Fallujah

Forged by Chaos
Online action-rpg using CryEngine2

MODS

FSONE 2008 for rFactor
Mod that recreates 2008 Formula One season

Indycar Series 2009 for rFactor

Megane Trophy Eurocup 2008 for rFactor

Mobile Suit Gundam 0079-0083 for Homeworld 2
Final version of this total conversion

Middle-Earth RolePlaying: There And Back Again demo for Oblivion

WGRealms 2 for Duke Nukem 3D
5 levels long SP mod

No Escape for Half-Life 2
Large SP mod

Death Knell for Left4Dead
On a small boat, the survivors have run out of fuel and supplies. They must travel up cliffs, through tunnels, a small town and an automotive manufacturing facility to a military heli-evac.

SubAway Train for Left4Dead
Survivors start off down in what seems to be a storage/workplace in the subway. With most the exits collapsed, the survivors need to battle through the infested subway system

Battlestar Galactica Tactical for Mount and Blade

Mad World for Half-Life 2
Bizarre SP mod based around exploration

Murder in Dunlop for Neverwinter Nights 2 with Mask of Betrayer add-on

FREEWARE GAMES
Drakensang: Conspiracy at Ferdok
Great browser RPG adventure (the German version won Best Browser game at German Developers Awards 2008)

Captain Dan vs. Zombie Plan
Action stealth game

Cavern Klamrisk
A physics-based 3D action game which features a man inside a semi-transparent basket, on a quest to descend into the Earth’s core with only a trash bin as their solitary companion for the entire journey. Your objective is basically to keep the man inside the elevator for as long as you possibly can, a task made complicated by random sharp protrusions of the cavern walls that can knock the brave explorer out of his ride.- Indiegames

Effing Hail
Effing Hail is a score-based action game where players attempt to damage as many buildings and airborne objects as they can under the strict time limit, using a hail storm and gusts of wind to create large hails of destruction.- Indiegames

Enviro-Bear 2000: Operation: Hibernation
“Here is a game where you play as a bear who must fatten up to prepare for a long winter hibernation.”

Fox Fyre
Fox Fyre is a bit like Tanks-style gameplay minus the turn-based play and with tons of different options to choose from- Indiegames

I Love Traffic
In this action game your goal is to avoid car crashes by controlling. traffic lights

In 60 Seconds
A speed run platformer with multiple power-ups to collect, a couple of small areas to explore and a boss encounter to defeat.- Indiegames

Kissma
Kissma is a score-based horizontal shooter with large blocky sprites and liberal use of vibrant colours, in which players must try to score as many points as they can under the strict time limit of sixty seconds per game. The mouse is used to move the disembodied female head around, kissing is done by left clicking, and pressing the K key activates the special attack that clears the entire screen for just one time only.- Indiegames

okkuplektor
Stylish 3D shooter

Robot Dinosaurs that Shoot Beams When they Roar
A short, character-driven side-scrolling shoot-’em-up, controlled with the mouse- Jay is Games

Rockabilly Head
According to creator Jasper Byrne, Rockabilly Head may or may not be about rockabillys (or should that be rockabillies? Who really knows) at all. The last dream of a dying man sat on a train, Rockabilly Head follows his train of thought as he sets out to be a great rockabilly.Of course this involves stepping into his own head and tapping keyboard buttons in rhythm to impress other rockabillys who have quite a lot to say. Yes, this is your crazy fix for the weekend and it’s pretty fantastic. Everything about the game is special – the graphical style, the music you just can’t help bounce along too – it even has 4 different endings to find, depending on how well you dance.- Indiegames

Scary Girl
Marvelous platformer. Simply incredible

spidr
spidr is an action game not unlike messhof’s You Found the Grappling Hook or String Theory, measuring only a measly 96 kilobytes in size. The objective is to grab all gems in each level before time runs out, using only a string of web to launch yourself from one place to another.- Indiegames

Star Cannon: Invasion Formation
A 3D shooter.

Super Ear Man Bro
Super Ear Man Bros (Super 耳男 Bros) is an extremely difficult platformer in the style of The Life Ending Adventure, I Wanna Be The Guy and Syobon Action, where every step could be deadly and all traps are designed to take you by surprise.- Indiegames

Bridgecraft
Fun physic puzzler where you construct bridges to let the creature reach it’s objective

Civiballs
A good freeware Obulis clone

Collider
Using proprietary physics simulation technology, Collider lets you in on the particle-smashing action!-Jay is Games

(Don’t) Save The Princess
A Chu Chu Rocket-like puzzler.

Kyobi
Kyobi is a Columns-style stack-em-up with a physics twist. Your job is still to match 3 or more of the same colour, but once the blocks land they are not stuck down – any square can be grabbed and thrown around the playarea. All the surrounding blocks will react when collided with and launch themselves around too.- Indiegames

MateMaster
MateMaster takes chess and moves it a step further into the casual gaming realm by turning the classic board game into strategic puzzles. - Jay is Games

Me and the Key
Me and the Key is a series of mini-games that all have the same end ? getting the titular key. That’s right. There’s no zombies, no spaceships, no power-ups. Just you and a slowly evolving set of puzzles designed to test your common sense, and your ability to think outside the box- Jay is Games

mimi-Panic
mimi-Panic is an audio version of the age-old Memory game where every speaker will play a tune when selected, and the player has to match speakers in pairs to remove all of them before time runs out. A time penalty is incurred whenever you pair up the wrong set of speakers, although there are enough seconds on the clock to make a couple of mistakes and still get through to the next round.- Indiegames

Prizma Puzzle
Tile-based puzzler.

Puzzle Bloom
Puzzle Bloom is a 3D puzzle game created by a group of DADIU students, where players get to assist a kind tree spirit named Canotila restore life to a cluster of islands which have lost all of their greenery in the name of development and industrialization. This basically involves floating from the back of one creature to another, as she subtly persuades the inhabitants to carry out tasks that her frail body could not do.- Indiegames

Rustyard
Another great puzzler from Nitronome, makers of my beloved Icebreaker

Casebook Episode 0: The Missing Urn
Freeware prequel to excellent FMV Adventure series

The Fog Fall 2
Excellent escape the room game.

Judith

Loom Above
Japanese escape the room game

The Malstrums Mansion is
A retro point-and-click adventure in the style of the old Apple Macintosh version of Shadowgate, - Jay is Games

Tower Core
“The latest installment of the Core point-and-click series. An ancient enemy is approaching Earth and it’s up to you, the caretaker of the planet, to activate the defenses!”

The Wedding Anniversary
Fun short escape the room game.

Station’s Golf
Station’s Golf is a golf simulation game created by SKT Products (of Moai fame) which offers just one hole to play. Only three shots are allowed per game, and after you’ve used up all of your swings the session ends with a results screen showing the final score and grade achieved by the player. Two options are then presented to you, where you can choose to watch a pointless and long-winded replay of your last game or attempt to pocket the ball into the hole once again.- Indiegames

Gemcraft Zero: Gem of Eternity
Very nice tower defense game.

Orbital Decay
A mix of sidescrolling shooter and tower defense gam

2009 COMMERCIAL GAMES

Ankh 3: Battle of the Gods
Similar to its predecessors, the third Ankh installment is another bright and sunny adventure that at times still manages to feel a little under-baked.-7.0 from Adventuregamers

Death to Spies: Moment of Truth
Sequel to a stealth game that got 8.0 from IGN

Bioshock 2

Fallout 3: The Pitt Review
The download might be a little short for your money, depending on your tastes and how much bang you expect for your buck, but the quests are fun and The Pitt matches that feeling of despair that Fallout 3 does so well. If you can make it through without any glitches, you’ll find a lot to like here. Until a patch comes, good luck.-7.5 from IGN

MODS

Star wars – Privateer for Jedi Academy
SP campaign.

Decadence for Half-Life 2
A story-driven multiplayer modification.

The Intern’s Story part 2 for Half-Life 2

Bubbles’ War for Freelancer
Mod based on Halo universe.

Star Trek Enhanced Space Combat Beta for Nexus: Jupiter Incident

Manta’s Pulse for Neverwinter Nights 2
SP module

Rise of the Lost Children for Freelancer
MP mod that adds ton of new content and reworks existing one.

Star Trek: Sacrifice of Angels 2 for Sins of a Solar Empire

Champcar Challenge 00-04 for rFactor
iDT has released the Champcar Challenge 00-04 mod for rFactor, a conversion of their Champcar mods for F1 Challenge.The mod includes five seasons of Champ Car racing from 2000 through 2004. Since this is a conversion, you shouldn’t expect the same quality seen in iDT’s scratch-made rFactor mods. But combined with Champ Car 2005-2006 and Champcar 2007, Champ Car fans get their hands on the last eight years in the series’ history.– VirtualR.net

Skoda Octavia Cup 2006-2008 for
SimRacing.cz has released a new version of their Skoda Octavia Cup for rFactor, including three seasons of Scoda Octavia touring car racing. While seasons 2006 & 2007 remain untouched from the previous versions, 2008 comes with an all-new 3d model and new physics that have been put together with plenty of data from a real life Octavia Cup racing team.- VirtualR.net

Shadows of a King’s Justice (Director’s Cut) for Neverwinter Nights with all add-ons
SP module

Soulforge for Neverwinter Nights with all add-ons!
SP module set in Dragonlance campaign setting

Rethild’s Wizard for Neverwinter Nights 2 with Mask of Betrayer add-on

The Third Sign for Neverwinter Nights 2 with both add-ons
A large SP module that’s retelling of “The Third Sign” novel written by Gregory A. Wilson

Sparta: Total War III for Rome:Total War

FREEWARE GAMES

Ferrari Virtual Race 1.0
The official Ferrari racing game lets you drive the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti and Ferrari 430 at Mugello, one of the company’s trademark tracks. The game is not supposed to be a real simulation but more of a driving game, if you enjoy Ferraris and titles like GRID or Gran Turismo it’s worth to be checked out for sure- VirtualR.net

Balance of Power: 21st Century
Balance of Power: 21st Century places you in charge of the US straight after the 9/11 bombings and asks you to make numerous decisions about the welfare of the world. It’s a storybook style game where all goings-on happen in text form. Every decision you make has a consequence and it’s up to you to decide how to play – either be an evil dictator and scare every other leader into submission, or be kind and generous and win their approval.-Indiegames

A Crow in Hell 2
A Crow in Hell 2 is basically a follow-up to the similarly-titled release from late last year, where once again players are asked to guide a black bird from one room to another while avoiding contact with walls, ceilings, floors, and a variety of traps strategically placed to impede your progress.-Indiegames

Gen
Gen is all about guiding a bunch of spheres to a bigger sphere using the mouse as an ‘attractor mechanism’. The balls of light will follow the mouse pointer in a swooping sort of way, so it’s your job to make sure they don’t swing about too much and destroy themselves on deadly surroundings.-Indiegames

Monochro Observer:
The Black and White Puzzle Game
Monochro Observer is a tragic, lovely little puzzle game about two people from opposite sides of the visual spectrum, learning to work together towards a common goal, to finally taste the forbidden love that sparks between the deepest shadow and the shiniest, twinkliest, luminescent-i-est-iest light.- Jayisgames

Nevermore 3
A puzzle platformer.

Space Trophy
Space Trophy is a take on the classic Helicopter game. Holding down the left mouse button makes your ship go up, release and you go down.- Indiegames

Assembler 3
Physics puzzler where you drag objects to allow for one colored green to end in in specified destination

KOHCTPYKTOP: Engineer of the People
A hardcore engineering puzzle game where you construct computer chips that follow specific input/output rules.

Redstar Fall

The latest entry into the world of physics-based stacking / unstacking games is Redstar Fall a fun little gem from Zedarus at Armor Games. The goal of Redstar Fall is to, well, make the red star fall. To the bottom platform, that is, without letting it fall off into the bottomless chasm that waits below.- Jayisgames

The Great Attic Escape

Another great escape the room game from Mateusz Skutnik and Pastel Games.

Puzzle Dungeon
Puzzle Dungeon is a funny little adventure game from eyehook, the creator of Color Box. The title conjures up any number of different genres; perhaps a match-3 game like Puzzle Quest, or an RPG, or even a hidden-object adventure. As you will quickly find out, Puzzle Dungeon is none of the above. It is a simple, casual roguelike, the descendant of classics such as ADOM and NetHack.- Jayisgames

2009 COMMERCIAL GAMES

Monster Trucks Nitro
This is a game that is extremely easy to learn but hard to master, but not at the same insane level as its predecessor. This ultimately makes the game more enjoyable, as the tracks are less severe and the vehicles are easier to handle. The game strikes the right balance between precision and forgiveness, something Trials 2 Second Edition lacked during its more difficult levels. The graphics continue to be quite strong as well. (…)Monster Trucks Nitro is a game in desperate need of a level editor: it would seem to be easy enough to execute because of the 2-D nature of the levels, so I am at a loss explaining why this feature is still not here. Allowing user-created content would elevate Monster Trucks Nitro into the must have・category of gaming, but it is still a very solid intricate arcade game.- 7.6 from Out of Eight website

Killing Floor
FPP co-op survival horror/shooter from TripWire Interactive, makers of Red Orchestra (8.5 from IGN)

Dark Fall: Lost Souls
Third game in the series that started the whole “indie adventure horror game” craze that brought us so many great games.

The Legend of Crystal Valley
The Legend of Crystal Valley is an ambitious undertaking that, in spite of having a slight “rough around the edges” feel, is an engrossing adventure with a thoughtful story and a respectable, though not quite epic, length. Adventure game fans should at least try the demo to see what it’s all about.-7.5 from Gamezebo

Lost in the City
Lost in the City may be an uneven experience, but it’s certainly never boring. The story keeps you guessing and the atmosphere of conspiracy and dread it creates will have you thinking twice about accepting a cup of coffee from anyone. It may ultimately leave some questions unanswered, but its journey is an unusual and intriguing one.-8.0 from Gamezebo

Annabel
, Annabel is a highly enjoyable hidden-object puzzler that takes a chance on a different approach and succeeds. It might not be for everyone ? especially those who get motion sickness easily ? but the clever gameplay, many mini-games, story and production values all make this a recommended pick for fans of the “HOG” genre.-8.0 from Gamezebo

Curse of the Pharoah: The Quest for Nefertiti
Napolean’s Secret takes a fresh approach to the stale hidden object genre by placing the emphasis on spot-the-difference levels, rather than item searches (…)Even though Napolean’s Secret goes a bit easier on the player than it really needs to, it’s still a very well-done game that’s far more challenging and polished than the vast majority of hidden object games currently available. -8/0 from Gamezebo

Wandering Willows
Unique game play, beautiful artwork, and a funny storyline with colorful characters will prove Wandering Willows a winner among adventure and sim game fans young and old. This game offers a challenge without the pressure of time constraints, and since it will likely take you at least 20 hours to complete all the quests, it’s a great value for the price.- 9.0 from Gamezebo

Mevo & the Grooveriders
While the game “borrows” heavily from popular rhythm games on consoles, it adds a fun story, adorable characters and memorable worlds. Mevo & the Grooveriders is wacky, addictive and challenging, and is sure to amuse and entertain for many toe-tappingly hours.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Dark Sector
Dark Sector’s fun. Hearing guards scream for help just before they take a glaive to the face, marching around in this Metal Gear-looking Jackal tank while rocketing bad guys into the air and wielding a pimped-out shotgun make the experience something any action fan can get behind. However, when the really similar levels and waves of opponents get too repetitive towards the end of the game, Dark Sector’s weak storyline might not be enough to carry the more fickle fan to the finish line. Still, $20 is an attractive price point for the game. It’s fun, but it’s not perfect.- 7.7 from IGN

R.U.S.E
WWII RTS from Eugen Systems , their previous RTS (Art of War) scored 8.5 on IGN

2010 COMMERCIAL GAMES

Vampyre Story 2: A Bat’s Tale
Sequel to one of the best adventure games of 2008

MODS

Touring Car Legends 1.0 for rFactor

Invasio Barbarorum II Beta for Medieval 2: Total War
A provincial campaign focusing on the Vandal invasion of Africa, where you can play as the Vandals, The Western Roman Empire, the Visigoths or the Suebians.

The Greek Wars for Rome: Total War
A mod set in ancient Greece. The mod starts in 360 B.C., and lets you choose between one of eleven factions: Athens, Thebes, Megara, Corinth, Argos, Sparta, Messenia, Elis, Arcadia, Achaea & Sicyon. Your objective is to take control of one of these factions and achieve hegemony on a map of southern Greece consisting of forty regions.

Colaboration for Left4Dead
5 maps long campaign

Starflier for Freelancer
Early version of a mod that aims to completely rebuild Freelancer world. This release has two brand new star systems as well as modifying and tweaking the existing ones

FREEWARE GAMES
DefeatMe
DefeatMe is a simple shooter which involves attempting to kill the enemy with as few shots as possible. See, the problem is that on each subsequent level, you’re put up against clones of yourself from each of the previous rounds.Put simply, the less shots you fire off, the less shots will be fired back at you next round. And vice versa, of course – take your time killing the single ship in the first round, and you may find it rather difficult to complete the next.-Indiegames

DungeonMinder
In DungeonMinder, you play as an invisible fairy tasked with assisting an adventurer as he makes his way into the catacombs in search of treasure. This requires casting spells which immobilize enemies, increase the adventurer’s stats or even change the shape of dungeon walls and floors.

Kings
Fun retro platformer.

Smoking Barrels

Transmover
Transmover is a platform puzzler based around the classic ‘grab the key, take it to the door’ scenario. Our little stickman can walk over obstacles which are just 1 block in height or depth, but to get past bigger problem areas, the zapper must be used.- Indiegames

Ice Breaker: The Red Clan
Follow-up (a much improved one might I add)to my favorite freeware puzzle game of 2009

Imagination Reality Paradise
Possibly one of the strangest acid trips you will play this year, kanoguti’s I.R.P. is an adventure game where players would have to figure out the solution to the puzzle found in each room, simply by using the right combination of buttons on their keyboard. Every playthrough yields a different set of random sequences, so by replaying the game you might find some new areas that were never discovered in previous attempts.-Indiegames

Open Doors 2

Pandora’s Gearbox
Great physics puzzler

Physical#
Physical# is a physics-based game where the objective is to roll a ball Marble-Madness style from the starting point to the checkered goal platform. Thing is, you only control the platform the ball is currently on, so to move it you would have to tilt the platform using the mouse and help the ball build momentum. If you’re skillful enough, you can even bounce the ball across several platforms using quick back and forth movements.- Indiegames

Dead Like Ant
“Dead Like Ants is a low-fi, fairy tale-ish game for an Interactive Fiction (i.e. text game) environment competition. “

Foreign Creature
Foreign Creature is a rather disturbing point and click adventure revolving around a small creature with abnormal powers and quite a lot of blood and guts. The aim is to help the little critter escape his science lab cage and get away from the complex completely unseen.-Indiegames

Host Master and the Conquest of Humor
Hilarious retro adventure game where you play as Tim Schafer, who’s supposed to host Game Developers Conference, except he’s totally unprepared and you have to help him find enough jokes to make it through.

Online Front Lines
Online Front Lines is an Advance Wars style war battler. If you’ve played this kind of game, you’ll know what to expect – strategic movement, using certain units against others to gain the advantage, achieving extra cover in specific areas – it’s all there-Indiegames

Drift Runners